Across Countries
by Sedi
Summary: Rei goes to Italy to live with Enrique for a week, then go around the world with him due to a penpal service. Sparks fly. Rei/Enrique (Will now be continued! See chapter seven for details.)
1. Meeting

Across Countries  
  
By: Sedi  
  
Well, I decided to do a strange coupling since I have writer's block on A New Dawn. I'm not sure if I'm gonna make a chapter story outta this or not, I'll just see how this turns out. It's Rei/Enrique and AU. Odd, ne? ^^' I think this'll be the first Rei/Enrique on here. Wa ha, go me.  
  
Chapter One: Meeting  
  
The day was hot and muggy, not exactly the best to be in an outdoor cafe with no air conditioning, where Rei is. He sipped on his tea and wiped his forhead with his left wrist. Italy was more hot than he had expected.  
  
"It's a good thing I brought shorts," the Chinese boy told himself, "or I would have fried to death here." He took another drink of his tea and set it on the table. The waiter came by and asked if he would like anything else. Rei politely rejected and the waiter turned away to serve another table.  
  
It was only a few months ago (only a week from them that Rei had registered in a penpal listing) that Rei had received a letter from an Italian boy around his age named Enrique. He smirked when remembering the contents of the first letter.  
  
"Dear Kon Rei or Rei Kon, whatever  
  
Don't think that I like this, because I don't. My father is making me write to someone from a different country and all that other crap to learn about other cultures so I can take over the damn family business. And if you're reading this Dad, I hate this stupid idea, and I don't care what you think about this letter!  
  
Anyway, Dad wants you to talk about your stupid country, and all of that crap.  
  
Not So Sincerely,  
  
Enrique"  
  
In his letter back, Rei had described some things about the village he lived in, and asked about Italy. Before he knew it, Enrique's father had wanted Rei to come to Italy so he and Enrique could take an "educational tour" of a few countries, including China, Rei's home country. He was asked to meet Enrique in the cafe he was sitting in now so both could talk, have lunch, and get to know each other.  
  
Expecting the worst of attitude from Enrique because of the past letters, Rei had come to the cafe early to enjoy the last few minutes of peace before being inevitably plunged into a world of hell living with this Enrique kid, or so Rei thought. He didn't think Enrique was a very pleasant person from the letters, so why should he be even better in person? But Rei promised himself to give the Italian boy a chance. Someone could be completely different in person than on paper.  
  
Rei looked at his watch. Ten more minutes until the expected time Enrique was going to show up. He finished his tea that reminded him of bitter grapefruit and scoped out the place. The people in Italy dressed strangely, much differently from him. But then again, Rei thought, people were giving him side glances, those sitting in the cafe more than one. He must be the strange looking one here.  
  
Giggles that were quite hard to not notice erupted from behind the Chinese boy. He turned his head to the side and out of the corner of his eyes saw a blonde haired boy with two girls, one on each side of him, heading towards the table. Thinking it wasn't the kid he was writing to, Rei turned back around and looked into his empty cup. But the blonde nonchalantly walked around him and sat on the other side of the table, the two girls sitting beside both of the boys.  
  
"Ah, hello, I guess you're Enrique?" Rei asked, forcing a smile onto himself.  
  
"Sure, hi. I hope you don't mind I brought the girls with me." The blonde, Enrique, grinned at the two Italian girls who were loudly talking amongst themselves. One turned to Enrique.  
  
"Like, Enrique-poo, I thought we were going to your yacht!"  
  
"Yeah," the other agreed. "I'm hungry and want some Chinese!"  
  
Enrique started jabbering to the girls to try to calm them down. A nerve was building up in Rei's head as he though, 'He wasn't even supposed to bring anyone, and he's acting as if I'm not even here! Who does he think he is?!'  
  
Deciding not to show his anger, Rei plastered on a fake smile. "How about we just order here? From what I've seen, the food in this cafe looks pretty good, so it won't be such a loss."  
  
The girls and Enrique stared at Rei for a moment, making the Chinese boy very uncomfortable. The girl with brown hair scooted a bit closer to the Asian and asked, "So, are you rich?"  
  
Is he rich? What kind of question is that? "Money really doesn't have much value in our village... It isn't used often..." Rei answered after hesitation.  
  
"Oh," the girl said in disappointment, then in almost disgust added, "How primitive."  
  
Rei really needed to vent his anger out on something, then saw a waiter heading towards their table. "I'm going to go ahead and order if it's fine with you three."  
  
"Sure, whatever," Enrique replied, then returned to listening to the girls continuing their discussion.  
  
  
  
Enrique was not looking forward to meeting Rei. Not at all. He was determined not to like him, no matter what. His father had forced him to keep sending letters to the Chinese boy to learn more about his culture and China in full, but no matter how friendly Rei had sounded in the letters, his mind was set. When Rei came, Enrique would be so rude, arrogant, and a jackass that he would want to leave, and his father would never want to make him write to another foreign person in his life.  
  
Although Enrique's mind nearly changed when he saw Rei's picture that was sent to him after they made plans to meet at the cafe. The Chinese teen was infront of a green hill, trees surrounding it, the sky clear and blue. The scene was beautiful, and the smiling teen in the picture was equally so. Enrique gawked at the picture, then secretly stashed it in a locked box in his room for safekeeping.  
  
But soon he had remembered his goal to drive Rei away, and continued his plans to act like the rich snob of the town infront of him.  
  
Enrique glanced at Rei, who was contently eating a cannelloni. Personally, he hated cannellonis, mainly because of the spinach stuffed in it.  
  
  
  
The Italian food was okay, but Rei preferred his homecooking back in China. After he was finished eating (Enrique nor the girls ordered anything), all four started walking to Enrique's house. The girls were, of course, complaining about getting to the yacht and eating. Rei was wondering why the hell they didn't just eat at the resturaunt. He had a feeling that right when they get to Enrique's place, he was getting ditched.  
  
Sure enough, Enrique was only kind enough to show him the front door. As soon as Rei stepped foot inside the mansion, he and the girls were off toward where ever the yacht was. Rei was already getting sick of hearing about the damn boat.  
  
The butler, Piddlesworth, was the first to greet him.  
  
"Hello, you must be Master Rei. Let me take your luggage and show you to your room." Before Rei could respond, the bags were taken out of his hands and Piddlesworth was taking long strides up a long looking staircase. Rei followed reluctantly and looked around.  
  
There were several paintings of people lining the walls by the stairs, all of them men. Rei could see resemblance to Enrique in some of them, so he guessed that they were relatives of his, most likely deceased. They finally got to the top of the staircase. Piddlesworth opened a door then set the bags inside the room and allowed Rei to walk in and take a peek.  
  
The room was fairly large, as the rest of the rooms in the rest of the house probably were, of course. A large bed was in the middle of the room, and against the walls were a dresser and nightstand. Sunlight seeped in through two windows.  
  
Piddlesworth left the room, leaving Rei alone in his new room.  
  
"Well, Rei," the Chinese boy told himself. "Welcome to hell."  
  
He was not going to enjoy his week in Italy with Enrique, he could already tell that.  
  
To Be Continued...  
  
So what do you think of the first chapter? The next one is comin up soon! Please review, it's greatly appreciated. Thanks! The next chapter will be longer, I promise. And better. And Rei and Enrique will start jumping at each other's throats. XD Mweh heh.  
  
[1] Cannelloni: A stuffed Italian pasta that is a pasta tube filled with meat or cheese and spinach, then coated with tomato or cheese sauce before being baked. 


	2. The Mall

Across Countries  
  
By: Sedi  
  
Back by popular demand! Chapter two! I've already got a strangle scene planned out in my head for a later chapter. ^_^' Mweh heh, I'm evil... This fic is gonna be so fun... Also, someone mentioned that Piddlesworth was a funny name. I used the name because on the show, Enrique called his butler that, so it's going to be the butler's name in this fic. So I'm not offended in any way. ^-^' And some of the other Bladebreaks might make an appearance in this, and there is no beyblading. It's all A/U.  
  
Chapter Two: The Mall  
  
"Mariah, you have to help me!" Rei fell backwards on his bed, holding the phone that was brought by Piddlesworth on a platter up to his ear. "Enrique is just driving me crazy. I'm trying to be polite, but I'm going to crack soon!"  
  
On the other end, a female voice laughed. "Just keep putting up with him, be the better man. That'll really show him. And he'll regret the day he ever met Kon Rei."  
  
"You give the strangest advice," Rei replied, "but you are always able to cheer me up." He smiled.  
  
"Well, I'm glad to be of some help," Mariah said. "So when are you coming back home? We miss you already, Rei."  
  
"I don't know. It might be a month. Maybe less, if Enrique decides to ditch me in Russia or Mexico or something." The Chinese boy sighed. On the other end, his friend yawned. "Tired? It's getting close to bedtime where you're at, isn't it?"  
  
"Yeah, sorry I can't talk any longer Rei. And Lee is coming down with the flu or something, so of course he wants me to wait on him hand and foot, especially at nights."  
  
Rei laughed softly. "Yeah, typical Lee... I guess I'll talk to you later then."  
  
"Bye, and good luck, Rei."  
  
The raven haired boy hung up the phone and looked around his room. He then pulled out his labtop from his backpack and opened it up. After plugging it in to outlets and a phone jack in the wall, the boy logged onto the internet and started replying to e-mails.  
  
Deciding against stopping writing to his other penpals around the world, Rei had given them all his e-mail address so he could stay in contact with them, even though he'd rather write letters. To him, letters were more personalized and something easy to store, and you won't lose them if your computer or labtop crashes.  
  
Swiftly he typed, finally forgetting about his problems with Enrique.  
  
The Italian teen slyly made his way across his yard, checking to make sure no one saw him. He just barely had the front door open when a voice rang out, "Master Enrique!"  
  
Enrique groaned and turned around to see Piddlesworth behind him on the sidewalk. How long had he known Enrique was sneaking around? "What is it now, Piddlesworth? I don't have time for any lessons or anything!"  
  
"I just spoke with your father. He wants you to show Master Rei around town," Piddlesworth answered, confidence as always in his tone of voice. "For two hours at least, he said."  
  
"Terrific," Enrique muttered. "People are going to stare if they see me with Rei. He dresses all... weird."  
  
"You must be more open-minded to other cultures," Piddlesworth advised. "As I'm sure he is. That's why he came here; to learn more about Italy. It's not everyday that people want to know about our country's history, so you should be grateful that-... that..." He looked around. Enrique had already left. "Where did that boy go to now?"  
  
Enrique climbed the steps and entered Rei's room without so much as a knock. It took him a second, but he finally saw Rei lying on his bed, labtop infront of him, asleep. He stepped into the room and shut the door quietly, then silently walked up to the bed.  
  
"Aw, sleeping like a baby," Enrique said softly, an evil grin spreading across his face. He saw Rei's bag, reached into it, and pulled out a book. He looked at it. "Damn, it's all in Chinese..."  
  
He turned back to Rei, raised the book up high, and with a loud THUD! brought it down ontop of Rei's head.  
  
Immediatly, the Chinese boy woke up. He swiftly swung out of bed, grabbed Enrique by his arms, and slammed him up against the wall. "Who-!" He blinked, then let go of the blonde. "Oh, it's just you, Enrique. Sorry, reflex."  
  
"What are you trying to do, kill me?" Enrique yelled. He rubbed his left arm where Rei had grabbed him. 'He has a tight grip.'  
  
"Well you shouldn't have hit me with a book," Rei stated. He sat down on his bed. "So where are the girls?"  
  
"I didn't bring them. Now come on, I'm taking you on a tour. Meet me downstairs by the door when you're ready, and don't take too long. I'm a very impatient person." Before Rei could respond, he exited the room and went back down the steps.  
  
Surprised, Rei just sat there, staring at the door. "He's actually going to give me a tour?" He closed his eyes, shook his head, then reopened them. "I can't believe I fell asleep." The boy picked up his Chinese version of the Fellowship of the Ring and put it back in his bag. Then he pulled out a pencil and a notebook labled "Italy."  
  
The boy rushed down the steps and up to Enrique, who, true to his word, was standing by the door.  
  
"It's about time. You took a long time to just get a notebook and a pencil."  
  
In his mind, Rei growled and longed to give the Italian boy a good punch. But he restrained himself and responded, "Sorry, I had to put my book and labtop away. Let's go now, I guess."  
  
Both boys had walked silently until they were in the center of the city. Rei was the first to speak up.  
  
"So, when are you going to start telling me about Italy?" He asked.  
  
Enrique responded, "After I do something." He then grabbed Rei's notebook and pencil, and tossed it into a nearby old-looking fountain. "There, now, we're good. We're good." He smirked and watched as both sank to the bottom.  
  
"My... My notebook!" Rei turned to Enrique. "That was my notebook!"  
  
"Chill, China boy. Everything that I'm going to talk about is in some notes of mine that I still have. I'll give them to you after we're done with the tour, I promise." He looked around, then added, "Okay, this way," then turned left towards a large building.  
  
Fuming, Rei followed. He oh-so-dearly wanted to kick the blonde Italian, but remembered his manners and kept his feelings to himself. The two boys entered the building. From left to right inside were stores.  
  
"What... the..." The Chinese boy stared ahead.  
  
"You're not traveling around with me in the clothes you're wearing," Enrique stated. "You're either wearing normal clothes, or you won't get my notes and everything I know about Italy will be sealed inside my brain, and you won't be able to get any of the information."  
  
Rei wanted to scream at Enrique "So what?!" but again kept his anger in check, and only nodded. "But as soon as I get out of Italy, I'm wearing my clothing, okay?"  
  
"Deal." Enrique then dragged Rei off to the first clothing store in sight. "Just keep your mouth shut and let me pick out the clothes. I may not look like I have a fashion sense, but trust me, I have something in mind for you that'll look at least halfway decent. And you don't even have to pay for it, it's on me."  
  
"Nice," Rei grumbled.  
  
The Chinese boy looked around the store, and saw a whole rack of green shirts. The green reminded him of his homeland, the green mountains... The green grass... His friends, Lee's, green clothing... The green-  
  
"Here we go!" Enrique suddenly popped up infront of him, holding a shirt and jeans. "Go in the dressing room and try them on! I think they'll fit you."  
  
Rei blinked, then sighed. 'Why does Enrique have to ruin everything? Even my thoughts get interrupted by him!' He walked into a dressing room and locked the door.  
  
Enrique grinned as he watched Rei go into the dressing room, then started looking through some more clothes. 'Rei better like the clothes that I'm getting him. He should feel right at home with the ying-yang on his shirt.'  
  
Rei suddenly burst out of the dressing room, practically steaming. Enrique had to admit that he never saw the raven haired boy more pissed off.  
  
"You... You... This is an insult to my country!" Rei was wearing a soft red shirt with a ying-yang on the front, and semi-tight pants. "How dare you people use a symbol of my country just for clothing! You probably don't even know its meaning! You people... You people..." Rei snarled and went back into the dressing room, slamming the door shut.  
  
The Italian boy blinked in surprise, then turned to the lady behind the cash register. "I'll take that, plus these." He set more shirts and pants on the counter. "Charge it on my credit card. Oh, and this." He added a package of hair ties to the pile of clothing. After pausing and looking around the store once more, Enrique also grabbed a hat and set it ontop of the hair ties. "And this. Thank you."  
  
Rei and Enrique walked out of the store. Rei was still mad, and Enrique was trying to avoid any kind of conversation that would set the Chinese boy off again. When they walked to a model of a coliseum, Enrique finally decided to talk about Italy's history.  
  
"This isn't a real coliseum-" ('Duh,' Rei thought.) "- but it's a pretty good model of it. Life-size. Years and years ago, gladiators would fight in them, and the loser would be killed. But sometimes, the audience would shout for mercy for the fallen gladiator, if they really like him, and most likely the winner wouldn't kill the loser if they do."  
  
"Interesting," Rei murmured.  
  
"Want to look inside? I have the key to it." Enrique pulled a necklace out of his pocket. Attatched to it was an ancient looking key. "It's a duplicate of a real key from the time the coliseums were in use."  
  
Rei nodded, and Enrique unlocked a steal gate. The gate immediatly rose up, allowing both boys to enter.  
  
To Rei, the coliseum looked even more huge inside than it did on the outside. The ground was level and very large in width, larger than a normal sized house. And the seats seemed to trail up higher than a three-story house.  
  
"This place was built with special material so the rain won't erode it as easily as some buildings in Italy," Enrique said. He sat on a seat, and Rei sat beside him. "It was built for block-headed tourists to look and gawk at. Some are even stupid enough to think that it's real. Would a real one look so perfect after over two thousand years?"  
  
When looking at Rei, who looked somewhat offended, Enrique quickly added, "Don't worry, I don't think of you as a blockhead tourist. You're a traveler. Tourists wouldn't be as willing to try different foods here as you were at lunch. Or did you think that the coliseum was real?"  
  
"I knew it was fake," Rei explained. 'He's being so polite now.' "You must really be proud of your country to be able to actually want to show me around, even if you had to be persuaded."  
  
"Yeah, sure..." Enrique sighed. "But, I would rather live somewhere else. Get away from here for a long time. My Dad's too strict when it comes to my future. He wants me to take over the family business, which would force me to stay in Italy for all of my life."  
  
"Well, your chance to get out of Italy is coming up soon," Rei replied. "When the week is over, we're going to France for a while, then to some other countries, remember?"  
  
"Yeah, but traveling isn't the same as living in a different place. I want to live somewhere else, and have a full experience of the place." Enrique stood back up, then leaned against the post beside the gate. "After living in Italy for a while, it starts to suck. Really badly."  
  
'Wow, he's actually being so open to me now.' Rei stared at him as he spoke.  
  
"But hey... s'all good!" Enrique suddenly broke out into a grin, which almost scared Rei. "Now, when we get back to my place, you're putting on one of those pairs of clothing that I got you, plus the hat. And you're getting rid of that hair wrap and putting in a normal hair tie. Unless you want me to cut your hair for you."  
  
"Touch my hair, and die," Rei growled. 'Now he's turned into a jackass again! What's up with that?'  
  
Enrique shrugged and replied, "Well, then you're wearing the hat and hair tie. As long as you're hanging out with me around Italy, you have to do and dress as I say. Now let's go home."  
  
"But we've only been to the coliseum and the mall!" Rei argued. "And the mall doesn't even count because we were in only one store and I only learned there that you have a bad fashion sense."  
  
"First of all, there's a whole six days left for us to tour Italy. Second of all, I like my fashion sense, thanks!" Enrique turned around and walked out of the coliseum without another word.  
  
Rei sighed, then broke into a run to catch up to him. 'I don't think I'll be able to survive another week of this!'  
  
To Be Continued...  
  
Is it me, or is there quite a few of fic summaries that say "NOT YAOI" or something to that extent? What is the point of putting that? O_o They're acting as if every shounen-ai or yaoi fic should be burned at the stake or something. And about Rei cussing (someone brought that up in a review), I cuss. ^_^' Not a lot, mostly when I'm mad, but I do. So naturally, the cast in my stories will cuss, even if it is a bit OOC for them. Hell, I had Tyson cuss a bit in A New Dawn. And more people are going to cuss in here. So if you have a problem with that, either don't read this story from now on or deal with it.  
  
And sorry I didn't have this chapter up sooner. I've been trying to work hard on my original stories and on my site. Plus there are a few one-shots that I have ideas for. And they're of course shounen-ai. XD Of course. 


	3. Saying 'Bye to Italy

Across Countries  
  
By: Sedi  
  
You people... *points finger at readers* ... ARE SO GOOD TO ME! ^_^ I didn't expect to get this many reviews for just two chapters of this story, but I guess I was wrong. ^-^ Sorry I didn't get that last chapter up sooner; I was really busy with other crap. So, I decided to work extra hard on this chapter so you people can enjoy it sooner. ^,^ Also, ff.net is screwin up my fics so that you can't tell when a new scene starts, so I'm going to have to use the dreaded annoying lines so you guys can tell where a scene ends and a new one starts. I apologize. ^^'  
  
----------------------------------------------- (Bleeeh! Aaagh..! *falls on the ground, twitching*)  
  
Chapter Three: Saying 'Bye to Italy  
  
Rei couldn't believe it. He's survived three more days of Enrique's torment and torture. Finally, It would be only one day before he could get out of Italy and out of what the blonde teen called "clothing". The Italian clothes weren't even comfortable, and just didn't look right on a Chinese guy.  
  
'When I introduce him to China,' Rei thought, 'I'm going to make him wear Chinese clothing. See how he likes wearing something that is totally foreign to him. Stupid prick.'  
  
All week, after they had gone to the mall, Rei had restrained himself from exploding on Enrique again, but the anger kept building up in him and he felt as if he were going to burst any second on someone, which he didn't want to do, especially if the person were an innocent bystander and not the nuisance himself.  
  
'Well, he did tell me a lot about Italy, and gave me a nice perspective of it, you have to give him that. The only thing I want to know is his father. I haven't met him, or even seen him, all week!' Rei sighed as he tapped on his labtop. So far that week, the only people who had responded to his e- mails were Kai from Japan and Emily from the States. He was just now responding to Kai. 'I guess the others don't use their computer as much.'  
  
The only person Rei had told about his problem with Enrique was Kai, and he would often reread Kai's last e-mail sent to him to get more confidence, and to keep his temper in check.  
  
[Rei,  
  
Don't let Enrique get to you. You'll just be showing weakness if you blow up on him again. Show him who's the better person, and put up with him. But remember, if he really deserves a good kick in the groin, give it to him. And if he really gets up your ass, just tell him off, but remember, don't yell. Be as calm as you can.  
  
-Hiwatari]  
  
In Kai's letters when Rei was in Japan, he didn't come off as humorous or even slightly nice, just very serious and sometimes even insensitive. But Rei found the e-mail to be quite comical, even thought he would probably never kick Enrique in the nuts, or even attack the boy on purpose.  
  
'I guess I'll just have to put up with him until we end up in China and he gets sick of me and decides to go home.' Rei closed his labtop and put it away in his bag, then climbed out of the bed.  
  
The Chinese teen was planning to spend his last day in Italy relaxing and avoiding Enrique as possible. "A day off never hurt anyone," he had told himself the night before. "And Enrique probably wouldn't want to see me either. It'll give us both a break from each other."  
  
Rei then looked over at the nightstand by his bed and noticed a rather thick notebook lying ontop of it. Curious, he picked it up and skimmed through it. In the notebook, in perfect handwriting in the Italian language, were notes that were obvious about Italy. Rei, having studied many languages, read a bit of the notebook, and confirmed that indeed Enrique had kept his promise and had given him the notebook about Italy.  
  
"I guess he isn't a total bastard," Rei said aloud.  
  
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Enrique dully tapped a high key of a grand piano, then put his right elbow on the keys, resting his head in his hand. A deep sigh escaped his lips.  
  
"Master Enrique," Piddlesworth pleaded, "please practice! If you don't want to, then tell me what's wrong and I might let you out of piano lessons for today, and I won't even tell your father."  
  
"It's nothing, Piddlesworth." He tapped another high key, then went down to the low keys and started tapping them, not really playing a melody. "I'm just tired. I'm not used to going around this city four days in a row, flapping my mouth like the apocolypse is coming."  
  
Piddlesworth laughed softly, then stepped up behind Enrique. "And you're nervous about being away from home for so long, aren't you? Or are you afraid of traveling alone with Master Rei?"  
  
"It's nothing, really," Enrique replied thickly. "I'll practice. Can you get me something to drink please? My throat's getting a bit dry. It's been dry all week, thanks to 'Master Rei'."  
  
"Please don't be so hard on Master Rei," Piddlesworth said. "It's not his fault that you don't like him. You know he is trying his best to be friends with you. And like I said, you need to be more openminded." The butler left the music room, leaving Enrique with his thoughts.  
  
"Why should I be more openminded? It's not like people are openminded to us. Just because Italy was on the wrong side of the line in World War II doesn't mean that we're evil now." He continued tapping on the keys of the piano. "Rei is the only foreigner I've met who doesn't act like a tourist, and actually respects us."  
  
The blonde teen slid his right hand across the keys, then broke out into Pachabel Canon.  
  
-----------------------------------------------  
  
Rei searched around the house, trying to find Enrique. After giving up, he wandered around the kitchen area to see if he could find a butler or servant, but found no one. When exiting the kitchen, he crashed right into Piddlesworth.  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. Piddlesworth," Rei quickly apologized, helping the older man up. "I didn't see you there."  
  
"It's quite alright, Master Rei." Piddlesworth gently brushed himself off. "If you're looking for Enrique, he's in the music room. Just take a right when you see the first floor bathroom and you should find it easily."  
  
"Wow, you read my mind, thank you." The Chinese boy quickly walked off, still embarrassed about crashing into Piddlesworth like that. "And again, sorry!"  
  
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Enrique had ended Pachabel Canon then went into Vivaldi's Winter. After nearly halfway through the song, though, he heard a door squeak open and immediatly stopped. "Hey Piddlesworth, back with the drinks already?" He turned around, and to his surprise saw Rei standing in the doorway.  
  
"It's just me. I bumped into Piddlesworth earlier, so I guess he'll be back soon." Rei walked up to the piano, and looked at the sheet music infront of Enrique. "Why did you stop? That sounded great."  
  
"I felt like it," Enrique replied, sliding the cover over the piano keys. "What are you doing here?"  
  
'Why did I even come here when I knew he'd be so rude?' Rei thought, then answered, "I just wanted to thank you for the notes. It's much appreciated, even though you didn't have to throw my notebook in the fountain. You could have just told me."  
  
"Don't thank me, I said I'd give the notes to you so I did." The Italian teen swung his legs over the piano bench so he'd be facing Rei. "We're leaving tomorrow at six in the morning, if you needed to know that too. So I suggest that you get your stuff ready. But remember; you can't take off the clothing I got you until we reach French, capish?"  
  
"Yeah, sure." Rei refrained from rolling his eyes and sat at the piano, then lifted the cover back up.  
  
"What are you doing?" Enrique asked, quickly swinging his legs back over the bench and defensively facing Rei.  
  
"Well, since you're not going to play, then I will," Rei said simply. 'I'm finally getting under his skin now.'  
  
But Rei thought wrong when Enrique just shrugged and stood. "Okay, go ahead. Whatever. I don't care." He walked across the room and leaned against a wall to wach the Chinese teen.  
  
Rei licked his lips as he looked at the keys. He hadn't played for a while, so he wasn't sure if he was all that great anymore. But instead of letting his thoughts keeping him back, he let his hands dance across the keys, the tune of Carol of the Bells filling the music room.  
  
When the song was over, Rei looked at Enrique as if asking for his opinion. All Enrique said was, "Nice," in a sarcastic tone of voice. He walked over to the bench and sat down by the Chinese boy. "A little rusty, though."  
  
"Thanks for noticing," Rei muttered, but Enrique decided to ignore that remark and pick up where he left off on Winter. "So, you like playing the piano, Enrique?"  
  
"No," Enrique answered flatly, keeping his eyes glued to the keys as his hands sped over them.  
  
"Why not? You play very beautifully. How can you not enjoy something that you're so good at?"  
  
"Because my father forces me to do things that I don't like, that's why. And if I don't try, then he'll ground me or take away my yacht or something." He shrugged, causing himself to slightly slip on the keys, but he quickly picked up the tune again. "Which is why I try in everything I do. Besides, I want to be successful like him."  
  
"But you don't want to be like him."  
  
Enrique slipped again. Angrily, he shut the cover and turned to Rei. "You don't know anything about him. So I suggest thinking before you say something like that, okay? You haven't even met my father, so don't be so judgemental."  
  
"But what you said in the coliseum-" Rei started, but was quickly interrupted by Enrique.  
  
"Forget what I said at the coliseum, okay?" Enrique stood up, sending Rei a look that said "forget about it or die", then added, "I was being stupid. Let's not talk about this again, okay? I want to enjoy France, even if it does mean being stuck with you." The blonde teen quickly walked out of the room.  
  
Rei stared at the door Enrique left out of, surprised at the other teen's sudden outburst. 'Why is it that when we get into a friendly conversation, he's always backing out of it?"  
  
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Rei, Enrique, and Piddlesworth ran through the airport terminal as fast as they could, clutching their luggage, the two teens yelling at each other.  
  
"Why did you have to oversleep?" Rei shouted at Enrique.  
  
Enrique's response was very typical of him, and quite expected by Rei. "It's your fault, you shouldn't have come to Italy in the first place, so if we miss this flight, I'm sending you on the first flight to Japan!"  
  
"I live in China!" Rei screamed back.  
  
"Whatever, they're all the same to me!"  
  
"I knew we should have taken the private jet," Piddlesworth mumbled to himself. "I can still fly it too..."  
  
The three pushed past people, until finding a counter with a sign above it labled "Italy Air". Enrique and Rei slung their luggage on the counter, almost hitting the woman behind it, then grabbed their tickets out of their pockets and held them up to her.  
  
"Hurry!" they both screamed at the poor woman. "It's that idiot's fault!" They both turned and glared at each other, then eyed the woman, who nervously checked the bags and put tags on them. She gave them their tickets back and directed them to where the airplane enterance would be.  
  
"Thank you!" Both teens yelled, then ran off. They didn't get far before Piddlesworth grabbed ahold of their shirts, pulling them back.  
  
"I'm going to be going now, boys. I called a close friend of your father's, Enrique, to pick you up at the airport and help you around Paris. Enjoy your stay there." As soon as Piddlesworth let go, the two boys immediatly sprang away from him.  
  
"We're going to miss the flight!" Both yelled.  
  
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"Well," Rei said, grinning, "We made it."  
  
"They made me take off my shoes and they felt around them," Enrique said. "Disturbing." He looked out the window, and buckled his seatbelt.  
  
"Never flew before?"  
  
"I told you, I've never been out of Italy before, so I never needed to." Enrique squirmed in his chair to get more comfortable. "But this is nice, so I have no complaints. Unless the plane crashes. Then I'll just sue the airplane company."  
  
Rei smirked then replied, "Enrique, if you are able to sue them while you're dead, then the world has come to an end." He too buckled his seatbelt, then put on headphones attached to the armrest of his seat.  
  
In a few minutes a stewardess explained safety precautions (which Enrique listened intently to, but Rei ignored), and soon the airplane was soaring the skies above Italy. Rei closed his eyes, listening to a soft rock station on the radio while Enrique stared out the window, looking at the little dots which were buildings and cars.  
  
When Rei looked up a half an hour later, he noticed Enrique slouching in his chair, looking quite pale. He reached across Enrique and closed the cover over the window, then returned to closing his eyes and listening to the music.  
  
Enrique grinned queasily but gratefully, then also closed his eyes. 'Maybe being with Rei won't be as bad as I had thought in the beginning. He's friendlier than anyone else I've known. I guess it'll be better to be stuck with him than anyone else, even the girls.'  
  
To Be Continued...  
  
[1] The States: This is what some countries call the United States of America. I thought it would be appropriate to have Rei call them that, since he is from China after all.  
  
[2] Pachabel Canon and Winter: Pachabel Canon is a song composed by Mozart, and Winter is by Vivaldi, both being very good. I love them. I know there are no piano parts in those songs, but I just thought of the titles off of the top of my head. I didn't feel like going through all of my classical songs until I found songs with a piano in it.  
  
So many Mary-Sue fics in this section... It's making my head spin... @_@ Anyway, I'm not going to update A New Dawn until I get five chapters of Across Countries done, just incase anyone in the future who reads this is wondering why I haven't updated it. And also, for future warning, I'm going to be moving to another town soon. It could be anytime from now to the beginning of summer (my landlord's bein a bitch because of my cat, but we were gonna move anyway so poo on her). Which means that I won't be able to update any fic for an amount of time. Just a warning. 


	4. Bonjour, Trouble

Across Countries  
  
By: Sedi  
  
Another chapter, since people are tellin me to continue. ^_^ I'm still usin the dreaded line, though, for about a month more, then I'll see if ff.net will love me again and start doin the spaces right. But until then, you get to be annoyed by the dashes.  
  
----------------------------------------------- (Ugh... Neeeee... *falls over, holds up white flag*)  
  
Chapter Four: Bonjour, Trouble  
  
Enrique watched as Rei, slumped in his chair, earphones still on, slept. This was the most peaceful he's ever seen Rei look; anytime else, the Chinese boy would look stressed, mad, or he was faking happiness around him.  
  
Yes, Enrique saw past the false politeness. And he was flattered that Rei would put up with him and rarely blow up on him. But, Enrique figured, he would probably give the raven haired teen a heart attack if he kept up his antics and didn't cease his current mission: bugging the living crap out of Rei.  
  
The Italian teen smirked, and reached over to touch Rei's hair. ("Touch my hair and die", Enrique remembered Rei saying.) He blinked in surrpise when he felt the soft black hair. Grinning, he carefully pulled the hair tie out of the boy's hair and watched as the released hair fell over Rei's shoulder, some going into his face. He smiled, and gently ruffled the hair, making it look more messy.  
  
'Cute. He should keep his hair down.' Enrique curled a peice of Rei's hair around his finger, then noticed an old couple sitting across the aisle was staring at him.  
  
"She has no boobs," Enrique quickly blurted out.  
  
The old couple slowly nodded, eyed Enrique and Rei one more time, and went back to chatting with each other. Enrique slightly blushed, then saw something sticking out of Rei's pocket. He pulled it out, realizing that it was Rei's hair tie.  
  
'He must have been saving it for right when we hit France so he can get out of the hair tie.' Enrique slowly combed his fingers through the raven hair, then put the hair wrap in his hair, cautiously so that he wouldn't wake the boy up. 'There. I liked the hair wrap better anyway, but it was fun giving him a hard time about it.'  
  
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"Please make sure you seatbelt is buckled correctly before we land, which will be in five minutes," the flight attendant announced. "If you're having any trouble, just raise your hand and I'll get right to you."  
  
Enrique double checked to make sure his seatbelt was in place, then checked Rei's, who was still fast asleep. Then, he took a book from the back pocket of a seat infront of him, and slammed it against Rei's forhead. Rei immediatly woke up, and Enrique held up the book again, this time in self defence, remembering what Rei had did the last time he took a book-beating to the forhead.  
  
Rei just blinked at the Italian teen sleepily, then yawned. "There already?"  
  
"Already? Do you even have any idea how long you've been sleeping? You went into dreamland ten minutes into the flight." Enrique grinned at him. "So, what were you dreaming about? Me and my sexy self?"  
  
Rei gave him a look that obviously said "you are the most pathetic being alive" and replied, "Yeah, sure, I was dreaming about shoving you off Ifle Tower, then shoving you off the China wall, then kicking your ass in a boxing ring."  
  
Enrique grimaced. "Cold."  
  
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After the plane landed and the flight attendant allowed everyone off, Rei and Enrique shoved their way off of the plane and entered the lobby, looking around.  
  
"So how are we going to find this friend of your father's anyway?" Rei asked, scanning the room with his cat-like eyes. "Is he supposed to be holding up a sign or something?"  
  
"Last night, Piddlesworth told me that he would recognize us right away." Enrique answered. "Maybe he was late in coming here, or got hit by a bus." He grinned at the thought while Rei stared at him in disbelief, but chose not to answer.  
  
"Hey!" Someone suddenly shouted. Rei and Enrique spun around to face the direction the voice came from. People moved aside as a boy around their age with green hair walked through the crowd. "Hey, I was looking for you two. Glad you could make it!"  
  
"Yeah, yeah, sure." Enrique rolled his eyes. "But I think you've made a mistake. You see, we're looking for a guy about ye high taller than you." He held his hand above the green haired boy's head to demonstrate. "So good luck in finding other Chinese and Italian guys, because we're not the ones."  
  
"Oh, but I think you're the one who's mistakened." The boy held up a finger and winked. "My father sent me here to show you two around Paris. My name is Oliver, and I guaruntee you two a good time."  
  
"I'm Rei," the Chinese boy said, extending a hand.  
  
"Pleasure to meet you," Oliver said as he shook it. "And I'm guessing you're Enrique," he said, turning toward the Italian teen. "I've heard a lot about you two, and when my father told me that I was going to be showing you guys around, I was very excited. I meet foreigners a lot, but not ones that wanted to get in depth in France's history and fine culture."  
  
Enrique turned away from Oliver and huffed. "Whatever. I don't really give a crap either way around." 'This guy bothers me a lot. Oh well, when I get the chance, I'm ditching him!'  
  
Oliver blinked at Enrique, then turned to Rei. "So you're from China? I don't think I've ever met anyone from China before, or even anyone from Asia. I heard it was nice living there, though."  
  
"Yeah, it's very nice. Beautiful scenery, and no tall buildings to ruin it in the area I live. But I'm not here to talk about China, I want to learn more about Paris," Rei politely replied.  
  
"Well, then let's go. I had my driver get your guys' luggage so we could leave as soon as possible. Ready, Enrique?"  
  
Enrique only shrugged and said, "Sure. Fine."  
  
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Enrique hated to admit it, but he was pretty impressed when looking around the city of Paris. But he tried as much as he could to keep a look of surprise off his face, and kept a distance from Rei and Oliver, who were both talking to each other. He then saw two French girls walk past them.  
  
'Great, an excuse to get away from those two maniacs!' Enrique shouted out to the other two boys, "I'm going to go off!" then ran after the girls, and almost immediatly made conversation with them, walking away from the two teens.  
  
"I'm sorry about Enrique," Rei apologized. "He's like that sometimes."  
  
"I understand, and you don't have to apologize for his actions," Oliver replied. "Let's just enjoy the time here while you still can. After all, that's one of the reasons you two came here for, not just learning things."  
  
Rei smiled and nodded. "Yeah, thanks Oliver."  
  
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Soon after Rei had compiled a good amount of notes from Oliver talking about France, both had went to a resturaunt for a slightly late breakfast. Then after that, Oliver decided to show Rei where he would be staying.  
  
As they walked out of the resturaunt, Rei asked, "What about Enrique?"  
  
"Oh, don't worry about him. I slipped a note in his pocket giving directions to my house. He'll be able to find it if he reaches in his pocket for money or anything. Ah, here we are!"  
  
"Already?" Rei looked up at a tall mansion, slightly larger than Enrique's. "Wow, it's nice."  
  
"Yeah, but I like it better when I'm outside. It's easier to appreciate the beauty of the world outdoors." Oliver smiled, then opened the gate and started walking towards the house, Rei following. "I spend most of my time outdoors, especially in the park or in art museums."  
  
"I stay outdoors most of the time in China, too. There's not much to do indoors anyway, since my village is small, so the houses are also small. But I have no complaints, I'm proud of the place I live, and I wouldn't give it up for the world."  
  
"You must really love China as much as I love France." Oliver smiled at Rei.  
  
Rei couldn't help but grin back. 'His smiles are contagious. And he's so much more polite and nice than Enrique is. I think I'll actually enjoy his company.'  
  
"Yeah..." Rei walked through the door when Oliver opened it for him and looked around the front room. "Nice place. And very homey."  
  
"I'll show you to your room now. I hope you like it!" Oliver rushed up a staircase, followed by Rei, and walked to a door, then opened it for Rei. "I tried to make it extra comfortable, but if you don't like it, just tell me and I'll find you a different room."  
  
Rei entered the room, eyes scanning around it. The room looked greater than his did in Italy. Sunlight poured in through two open windows, onto a bed with gold sheets and pillows. On one wall was a nice dresser with items of his that he recognized as his own. Two empty bags lay in the corner beside the dresser.  
  
"My driver must have already put your things away. Try out the bed, see if it's comfortable."  
  
Reluctantly, Rei stepped up to the bed and hopped on it, then sat cross- legged in the middle. "I have to admit, it's much more comfortable than my bed back at home. You really didn't have to go through all of this trouble... Thanks." He looked up at the head of his bed where a painting hung above it.  
  
"No trouble at all. I'm glad you like it." Oliver grabbed a few hair ties and a brush from a drawer of the dresser, then sat behind Rei on the bed. "Your hair would look great in a braid; have you every tried it?"  
  
"No..." Rei blinked as he felt Oliver gently pull his hair wrap out of his hair. 'Hey, when did that get in there? I was wearing one of Enrique's stupid hair ties...'  
  
Oliver slowly brushed Rei's hair, sometimes pausing to feel the soft strands. "Your hair is so beautiful, and shiny... I've never seen anyone keep their hair as good as you." He pushed some hair behind Rei's ears, then started braiding it.  
  
"Thanks..." Rei nervously shifted his legs, not sure of what else to say. He stared at the wall while Oliver braided his hair, thinking about Enrique. 'That guy is so weird. Whenever we get into a friendly conversation he starts acting like a total ass again. And he can never seem to stop ditching me for girls! Oliver is much better company than he is."  
  
"All done," Oliver suddenly announced, interrupting Rei's thoughts. "Go take a look in the mirror.  
  
The Chinese teen looked up at the dresser and put his hair over his shoulder. A long braid trailed down, tied in a large amber colored hair tie. It was different than what he normally did to his hair, and he liked it. "It looks great, thanks Oliver."  
  
"Anytime." Oliver gave Rei another one of his sweet smiles that made Rei relax. "You must have been tired from that airplane ride. I suggest you take a nap before we eat lunch and continue walking around Paris."  
  
"But-" Rei started to object, but stopped when Oliver hugged him from behind and put his chin on his shoulder.  
  
"Just relax," Oliver whispered in his ear. "You won't be able to fully enjoy Paris, a city of love, if you're tired. And yes, I can tell that you haven't slept much last night."  
  
'Well, I am a bit tired... And I did have some trouble sleeping last night...' Rei hesistated, then Oliver lowered Rei down to a lying position and stroked the Chinese boy's bangs.  
  
"Relax..." Oliver's voice made Rei feel even more tired, so he closed his eyes and sighed as he fell asleep.  
  
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Oliver smiled at the sleeping Chinese teen, then kissed his forhead and walked out of the room. "Sleep well, Rei."  
  
To Be Continued...  
  
Jeez, everyone loves Rei's hair. XD Tis quite obvious now that Enrique has a thing for Rei, no matter how much of a bastard he acts towards him. ^_^' And Oliver just might pose a problem towards the Enrique/Rei pairing... Mweh heh... Being evil is fun. You people should try it out sometime. :] Anyway, I'll try to have the next chapter up as soon as I can. Next chapter contains a physical fighting scene between Rei and Enrique. X3 Mwah hah! 


	5. Striking Back

Across Countries  
  
By: Sedi  
  
You people are so good to me. .^^. So many reviews... Now to answer questions. Yes, Enrique is going to act like an ass for a while longer. It's fun making him an ass. And yes, Oliver does have a crush on Rei. Which will, of course, complicate things. Especially when Enrique finds out. And Rei, of course, shall be naive. ^^ And no, there will not be an evil Oliver. He's nice.  
  
----------------------------------------------- (No... More... Lord have mercy on me... *flops on couch*)  
  
Chapter Five: Striking Back  
  
Rei silently stepped out of his room and looked left and right to make sure no one around saw him. All clear. He slowly walked down the steps, jumping over the last few and softly landing on the floor. Then he turned a corner and was about to break into a run when he ran right into the back of someone with green hair, causing both to topple to the ground.  
  
"Ow... Oh! Oliver! I'm so sorry!" Rei quickly jumped up and helped the French teen up. "I should have watched where I was going. Are you okay?"  
  
"I'm fine, you don't have to apologize." Oliver gave Rei his usual smile. "So, where's the fire?"  
  
"No fire," Rei answered sheepishly. "I was just hoping to look around here a bit."  
  
Oliver took Rei's hand, causing him to blush a bit, and said, "Then let me give you a grand tour, starting with the garden!" Rei nodded nervously, then smiled.  
  
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Enrique grumbled as he sat on a park bench. He had ultimatly pissed off the two French girls, and was left to roam Paris by himself. "Feh, who needed them anyway? I can find my way around, no sweat."  
  
He stood back up and continued walking around. "Besides, I'm sure I'll find Oliver and Rei soon. If not, I'll just ask for directions to the nearest hotel and use my credit card to cash in and get myself a room. Who needs those two anyway? I can enjoy Paris on my own! ... But..." Enrique stopped and stared at the pavement. "Rei is just too cute!" he loudly shouted out.  
  
People in the park turned and stared at them, and Enrique stared back, embarassed at his sudden outburst. Head still down, he quickly walked out of the park to escape the watching eyes.  
  
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"So Rei, if you're Chinese, why are you in Italian clothing?" Oliver asked, toying around with the end of Rei's braid. Both boys were sitting in the middle of Oliver's garden, talking.  
  
"Oh, when I went to Italy, Enrique wanted me to 'fit in with the crowd', so he got me these clothes. But really, I think he did it to torture me," Rei answered grimly. "I was planning to change back in my Chinese clothes as soon as I got here, but I guess I got a little sidetracked."  
  
Oliver scooted closer to Rei, making him a bit nervous. "I see. I think you look cute in those clothes, but with that braid you'd look even more so in Chinese clothes."  
  
Rei put his head in his hand to support it, using his fingers to cover up him blushing. Oliver noticed and smiled at him. The Chinese boy couldn't help but smile back at him, but it faded when he realized something.  
  
"Shouldn't Enrique be here be now? We should be looking for him, after all, Paris is a big c-"  
  
Rei was cut off when a voice interrupted. "Rei! There you are!" He looked up and saw Enrique running toward them, looking obviously pissed. When he was infront of Rei and Oliver, he continued, "I've been looking for you two for a half an hour now. Why did you guys leave me?!"  
  
Rei glared at him, about ready to stand up to punch him, but remembered he was infront of Oliver and restrained himself. he just growled and looked away from the Italian teen. 'This guy makes it sound like we abandoned him when it was he who took off with those French girls!'  
  
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Enrique had found a paper in his pocket when he decided to try to check in a hotel. On it was a note from Oliver, giving him directions to his house. Expecting to find the two there, he had jogged to the mansion. One of Oliver's butlers told him that the two were out in the garden, and there he went.  
  
'Oh jeez,' he thought when seeing the two sitting on the ground together, Oliver playing with Rei's hair, which was in a braid. 'What the hell is Oliver doing, trying to come onto Rei? Not on my watch.'  
  
Now Rei had turned away from Enrique, obviously pissed off at Enrique's accusations. Enrique suddenly felt guilty at what he said, and opened his mouth to apologize, but quickly shut it when Oliver piped up, "Why don't all of us three finish the house tour, then we'll go around France for a while until dinner?"  
  
Enrique stared at Oliver for a moment, a bit angered at his cheerfulness in the situation, then shrugged and turned away from them. "Okay, fine with me. Don't expect me to enjoy it though."  
  
Oliver stood up, then took Rei's hand and lifted him off the ground. Enrique watched them from the corner of his eye, then looked straight ahead and huffed. 'I hate Oliver. I hate Oliver. I hate Oliver. Why I hate him, I have no idea, but I hate Oliver.'  
  
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Rei was really flattered at how nice Oliver was being to him, but was just a bit freaked out. After all, he did spend a whole week with a total bastard and wasn't used to a foreigner being nice to him, let alone so nice that you'd think he was soon going to ask you to dinner then propose to you. Rei inwardly laughed at the thought, then accepted Oliver's hand as he lifted him to his feet.  
  
Enrique walked inside the house, followed by Rei and Oliver. Oliver tried to reach for Rei's hand, but Rei, pretending not to notice, combed his right hand through his hair to get a few strandes out of the way of his eye. Quickly, Oliver withdrew his hand and didn't say a word.  
  
It was as if he didn't like Oliver, Rei just felt a bit uncomfortable around him. And Enrique's attitude towards Oliver was disturbing to the Chinese boy. It almost seemed as if Enrique was jealous of Oliver. But Rei shook off the idea mentally. 'Why would he be jealous of Oliver? He doesn't have anything to be jealous about.'  
  
Oliver reached for Rei's hand again, and the raven haired teen let him take it.  
  
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The tour through parts of Paris turned out to be interesting. Rei got to learn a lot of things he never knew about the city, and actually see famous paintings that he only saw and read about in books. Enrique just mainly ignored Oliver as he spoke, hanging out in the background and acting interested in things out of the subject, like the passing tourists and finding a resturaunt that served Italian food.  
  
After the day's tour was finished, the three headed back to Oliver's mansion, where they were served dinner. Rei got to meet Oliver's father (remembering in dismay that he never got to even see Enrique's), and got in a conversation with the French while Enrique ate silently.  
  
Soon after dinner was over, Oliver turned to Rei and Enrique and said, "At nights, the stars are beautiful over France-" ('The stars are the same everywhere,' Enrique thought. 'Idiot.') "- and it'd be great for you two to come on the roof and see them. The Eifle Tower looks spectacular with a starry background."  
  
"I think I'll just go to my room now," Enrique said thickly. "Where is it?"  
  
"Oh," Oliver answered. "It's right up the staircase on the third floor, then go left two doors down. You're right by Rei's room. Sorry that you don't want to come with us, Enrique."  
  
'Yeah right, you're not sorry at all, you just want to get closer to Rei.' Enrique shrugged. "Whatever, I can see stars any night that I want to." Inwardly, he cackled evilly. 'They'll get a little surprise though, heh.'  
  
After going up the stairs and to his room, Enrique flopped on his bed and stared at the ceiling. "Yeah, just as I thought, this trip sucks majorly. It's so boring here that it isn't even funny." He then got up and opened his window, sticking his hand out of it. Something wet dripped onto his hand.  
  
"Heh heh." Enrique quickly closed the window and sat on his bed. Lightning suddenly crackled through the sky, and he could hear rain pouring onto the house. "Well, looks like their little night out is a bit... ruined." He walked out his bedroom door and leaned against the wall by it, waiting.  
  
Rei and Oliver walked around a corner leading to the hallway Enrique was in, both soaking wet. The Italian boy smirked at them, then commented, "You look shorter without your hair sticking up like it normally does, Rei." He cracked a grin at the two, then laughed. "I could have told you that it was going to rain tonight, but no one asked me."  
  
Oliver ignored Enrique and turned to Rei. "You might as well change in your pajamas now. I'm sorry about that; I didn't know that it was going to rain. I'll see you tomorrow morning." He then waved at Enrique and went down the stairs.  
  
As soon as Oliver was out of sight, Rei turned to Enrique and glared at him. "You knew that it was going to rain, and you didn't tell us? What the hell is your problem?"  
  
"Nothing," Enrique answered simply, only making Rei fume more. He stormed inside his room and slammed the door shut, leaving the Italian teen out in the hallway. "He's saying that I have a problem; what's his?"  
  
He put his ear against the wall and heard a soft "thud" as Rei, he guess, fell onto his bed. Enrique softly opened the door and saw the Chinese teen writing in a notebook, lying sprawled out on his bed. Rei obviously didn't notice the blonde, and leaped out of his bed to open his window, notebook still in his hand.  
  
Enrique pushed the door open wider, then said loudly, "Hey Rei, what's up!"  
  
Surprised, Rei jumped, the notebook slipping out of his hands and falling out the window. "My notebook!" He looked down and watched as it fell in a pile of mud, getting completely ruined by the rain and dirt. "My notebook.. That's the second one ruined!"  
  
He then turned to Enrique and felt his hands twitch as he glared at him.  
  
"You... You..."  
  
The Italian boy looked at Rei and blinked, not knowing what to say. He had never seen him so mad before, and to tell the truth, Enrique was getting quite scared. Flames were practically shooting up in the other boy's eyes.  
  
"You... Prick!" Rei shouted.  
  
He lunged at Enrique and wrapped his hands around his throat. Enrique slammed into the wall, eyes widening in surprise as Rei started strangling him. It was satisfying to Rei, his hands around Enrique's neck, making him turn maroon. He was finally venting his anger out and was enjoying it.  
  
Enrique coughed and tried to pry Rei's hands off of his throat. For a moment he saw his life flash. Finally he swiftly brought his right knee to Rei's gut.  
  
Rei let out a surprised "oof!" and doubled over in pain. Gasping for breath, Enrique slid down the wall and put a hand against the ground for support. Both stared at each other, panting from either pain or lack of air. Enrique used a chair to bring himself back up, and Rei slowly straightened himself, his expression turning back to a glare.  
  
The staring match was interrupted by the ringing of the phone. Rei shot him an evil look and walked over to the phone to answer it.  
  
"Hello? Mariah? ... What?" Rei's eyes widened, then looked at Enrique.  
  
To Be Continued...  
  
Thanks for over thirty reviews! Thank you to all the readers and reviewers who made this possible. And also, thanks to Enrique for being an ass (Enrique: HEY!) and making this fic humourous, Oliver for making the plot thicken (Oliver: What plot?) because of him makin the moves on Rei, and Rei, whose hair we love (Rei: Again, touch the hair and die.) and whom everyone loves. Thank you, everyone! ^_^ You people have inspired me to make a goal: finish this fic before summer vacation! ... And maybe A New Dawn too... But I'm not as inspired on that one. I love this fic the most. ^.^  
  
I have a favor to ask you people. I need criticism on this story, like on the lengths on the chapters, the humor, whether my characters are in character or not, and all that good stuff. 


	6. Given Choices

Across Countries  
  
By: Sedi  
  
*does the "Sedi's on crack" dance* You guys are so great for reviewing! Ya know... I think I like you readers so much that... When this fanfic is over, I'll make a sequel! I love you people! *hugz* And now, back to the evil plot... WAHAHAHAHAHA!! *lightning strikes* Oh, and an answer to a review: Rei's being to nice to Enrique? O_o He tried to strangle the bastard last chapter! *evil demented snicker*  
  
----------------------------------------------- (*white coated men drags Sedi, who is laughing insanely, into an asylum*)  
  
Chapter Six: Given Choices  
  
Rei gulped and sat on his bed, pressing the phone against his ears. Enrique stared at him, inwardly longing to hear what was being said to the Chinese boy. Rei looked up at the Italian teen, then motioned with his hands for him to get out of the room. Silently Enrique obeyed, shutting the door softly behind him. Rei returned his attention to the phone.  
  
"What do you mean, Mariah?" he asked, a hint of pleading in his voice.  
  
"Lee's sick," Mariah, who was on the other end of the line, answered. "He's been asking for you for three days now, but I haven't been able to get ahold of you for some reason. Finally the call went through, and that butler told me to call you here."  
  
Rei sat on his bed, clutching the phone as hard as he could, and ran his free hand through his black hair. He had never known Lee to get sick. It didn't seem in character for him to show any signs of weakness, or him being human. So this worried him. A lot.  
  
"Rei, please come back to China. Lee really wants to see you, and it might help him get better faster. We don't even know what's wrong with him; it could be the flu or something really serious. Please Rei..." Mariah begged. "And we miss you already anyway. No one at home is used to you being away for so long."  
  
"I know, Mariah," Rei answered softly. "I... I haven't been away for that long, really, but... I'll come home. Let me just go to bed, then tomorrow I'll talk to Enrique and call you back."  
  
"But Rei-" Mariah started to protest, but the raven haired boy cut her off.  
  
"Don't worry, I'm still coming. I just don't want to leave all of the sudden without closure here in France. I need to make sure Enrique has a way home, and it'd be rude to leave Oliver on such a short note," Rei quickly explained. "Please don't be mad."  
  
"I won't be, Rei. I understand," Mariah replied, her voice softening to a low tone. "Just please be here as soon as possible. Lee needs you to get better. I've never seen him so sick..."  
  
"No problem, Mariah," Rei said, liftening his voice to sound more cheerful. "I'll try to be in China by the day after tomorrow. And I'm sure Lee can wait until then. Just tell him to hang on for a while longer and I'll be there."  
  
"Thanks, Rei."  
  
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Rei thought that it was a bit ironic, Mariah thanking him for his support, when just a week ago he was the one spilling his soul to her about his problem with Enrique. The next morning during breakfast, he decided to spill the news.  
  
"Enrique?" Rei asked after swallowing his food. "You want to leave, right?"  
  
"Of course!" Enrique jumped at the thought of leaving France and going back to Italy, then sat back down, wondering what he meant by what he said. "Why do you ask?"  
  
Oliver looked up from his food and stared at Rei, waiting. The Chinese boy felt himself get more nervous when a third pair of eyes, Oliver's father, watched him as they awaited his answer.  
  
"There's an emergency, back at home," Rei explained. "So I'm going to have to leave. I'm sorry I couldn't stay here a bit longer, but I sort of have to go back." He fidgeted in his chair and stared at his almost empty plate, waiting for the watching eyes to look away from him.  
  
'This is it,' Enrique thought to himself. 'I can finally get away from Rei and my stupid crush. Oliver will probably want to go with him, since they are of course smitten with each other.' The Italian teen stood up and announced, "Then I guess I'm going to pack so I can go back to Italy." He swiftly exited the dining room, grinning.  
  
Rei and Oliver glanced at each other, then Rei returned to silently eating his food. He had to admit, he was a bit hurt that Enrique just up and went to pack, and to go to Italy none the less. Couldn't he at least have said something in support of Rei...?  
  
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Oliver stood in the doorway as he watched Rei pack his duffle bag, then spoke up after slight hesitation. "I could get you a ticket right now to go to China tomorrow, if you'd like..."  
  
Rei glanced at his French friend for a second, then went back to packing. "That'd be nice."  
  
There was another brief moment of silence until again, Oliver broke it. "If you want, I can go with you. To China. Just until the emergency is over?"  
  
"I'd like that..." Rei closed his bag, then sat on his bed, sighing. Oliver walked up to him, then wrapped his arms around him, pulling him in a hug. "Thank you, Oliver."  
  
The green haired teen then sat behind Rei, took a hair wrap from the dresser, and started redoing his hair. Rei just sat quietly, staring at the wall infront of him. Suddenly Oliver put his hands on the Chinese teen's shoulders and started massaging them, relieving him of some of his stress.  
  
"Why don't you tell me what's wrong, Rei? You'd feel better talking it out with someone," Oliver said in a smooth, soothing voice. "And you won't worry as much. So are you...?"  
  
Rei looked at the ground, then continued staring at the wall. "Sure."  
  
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"When you're on a holiday, you can't find the words to say," Enrique sang to himself happily as he packed his clothes. "All the things that come to you, and I want to feel them too! On an island in the sun, we'll be playing and having fun, and it makes me feel so fine I can't control my brain!"  
  
"What brain?" A voice interrupted.  
  
Enrique's head snapped up, and he saw Oliver leaning against the wall, watching him.  
"Oh, hi Oliver," the Italian teen said bitterly, not taking the other teen's remark too lightly.  
  
"I just thought you'd like to know that I got a ticket for you to return to Italy tonight," Oliver said, walking up to Enrique. "And Rei's going back to China tomorrow morning. I'm going with him."  
  
"Figures," Enrique muttered as he continued stuffing clothes in his bag.  
  
"Why do you have such a problem with it?" Oliver asked. He started a few articles of clothing that weren't packed yet. "We haven't talked mano a mano, and yet you seem to already hate me. Do you like Rei or something?"  
  
"Does it look like I like Rei?" Enrique questioned sarcastically.  
  
Oliver stared at him for a moment, then dug in his pocket and pulled out what looked like two receipts. He held them out to Enrique. "One's for China. The other's for Italy. I got these printed off to show to the airport personel to get our tickets. You choose where you want to go. Back home to Italy, or to China with Rei."  
  
"What're you...? You like Rei. Why don't you just go with him? You don't have to give me a choice of where I'm going. And I already thought I made it clear that I'm going back to Italy."  
  
"Your choice." The French teen waved the receipts infront of his face. When Enrique didn't take one, Oliver shrugged. "I just thought that you'd like a fair chance to get to know Rei better and possibly be friends with him. More than friends, maybe."  
  
Enrique growled and snatched both receipts. He fanned them out infront of himself and looked at them for a second, then put one in his pocket, folded up the other, and handed it back to Oliver.  
  
Oliver sighed. "Well, I guess I'm going to China then. I hope you don't come to regret your choice."  
  
"Oh, don't worry," Enrique said, grinning. "I won't." He grabbed a pair of clothes that Oliver had folded and set them on the dresser, then closed his bag and tossed it in a corner. "Have fun in Italy."  
  
"I'm glad you made the choice you wanted to," Oliver said, grinning. "But I don't think I'll go to Italy. I think I'll just stick around here and wait for you to get back. The ticket is round-trip, so you'll need this to get home when you come back here in two weeks."  
  
"... Sure..."  
  
"See? I'm not as much of a bad guy as you thought I was. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go get Rei's phone number so I can stay in touch with him." Oliver walked out of the rooom and closed the door.  
  
Enrique stared at the door for a moment, then sat on his bed. 'I could have easily gotten rid of Rei, but instead I extend my time with him for two more weeks. I thought that I didn't want to see him again. What the hell is wrong with me?'  
  
To Be Continued...  
  
Wow, I have 53 reviews! ^_^ You guys are cool. Anou, it says 48 reviews on the front, but for some reason it's not showing other reviews that I got. It shows it in the stats page and on reviews page, but not on the summary page or the page you're looking at right now. Weird... O_o But anyway, thanks for the reviews. 


	7. Announcements Good News!

Across Countries  
  
By: Sedi  
  
Announcement- Good News!  
  
All who like this story are going to love me for this... I'm going to continue doing Across Countries instead of having Android 17 do it. ^_^ Sorry A17. Why, you ask? Well, I was sitting on the crapper (O_o) and thinking about it, and suddenly got the inspiration to continue. And besides, I don't want to completely quit a fic that I got so far on. Heh... ^^' Now I feel stupid for putting the summary for the rest of the fic on my previous announcements.  
  
But I won't be continuing it on here. Nope. Me thinks I'm through with FFN for a while. Instead, I'm going to be posting everything on my shounen-ai site, Boy X Boy. The link is on the bottom of my profile on FFN.  
  
Also, it'd help if some people emailed me or IMed me with words of encouragement for this story. The more encouragement, the more of a boost I get for getting more chapters done. If I end up completing the story and feel like it, I'll do a sequal this fall.  
  
And please note that in two weeks, I'll be going to Louisiana for most of the summer. This means that I won't be able to update the story and I'll rarely be on the computer. I'm going to try to work as much as I can on Across Countries and get ast much as possible done, maybe the rest of the story, before I go. If not, then I'll just wait until after I'm back to update the story. And I hope that you'll be patient enough to wait. ^_^'  
  
I guess I should post a summary of what has happened so far to refresh your memory. I haven't read over my story, so some of the things I say in the summary might be slightly incorrect.  
  
- Rei flew from China, his home country, to Italy as part of a penpal program. The person he stays with, Enrique, acts as if he hates him so that Rei would go back home, since he was forced into the program and wanted to have nothing to do with the Chinese boy. But despite all the hell that Enrique gives Rei, Enrique really likes him. Rei tries to be polite, but at times slips and ends up fighting with Enrique.  
  
After a week in Italy, they go to France where they meet Oliver, who's letting them stay with him. Enrique immediatly dislikes Oliver, especially since he seems to be very fond of Rei. Enrique, quite ticked off, wanders away from the group when they're touring Paris. Oliver takes Rei to his place after the tour (with Enrique still gone) and they go in the backyard to talk. Enrique finally finds Oliver's house, events follow, they eat dinner, and Oliver invites Rei to go with him on a roof-top viewing of the night sky. Enrique goes to his room and hears the rain start pouring down. Oliver and Rei go back down inside the house, and Enrique and Rei get into a fight that was stopped when the phone rings. Rei answers, and finds out from Mariah that Lee is sick.  
  
Rei makes plans to go back to China the next day with the help of Oliver, who bought two plane tickets. Oliver gives Enrique the choice to either go back to Italy or go with Rei to China. And Enrique decides to go to China while asking himself: 'Why am I doing this?' -  
  
Well, I hope that this was accurate enough to give you an idea of what's going on so far. Look for the real chapter seven on Boy X Boy on Sunday or Monday night. Thanks to everyone for their reviews and support.  
  
-Sedi 


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